well, yes obviously the fins are not as big as the fin covers in that picture, but they are still getting rather large. It looks like they are probably half the chord and 2/3 the span of the covers -still pretty big!To a point they can very large if race courses are windward-leeward, because I think the vmg gain can outweigh loss of a knot or so reaching speed. This is not such a big deal when the riding is mostly straight up and down the wind, but it does make it harder on the legs, and less fun for freeride.For us freeridiing surfers, less extreme fins should be ok....I wonder if they will have some slalom figure-8 or zig-zag courses also, with smaller fins and skinnier boards....

BWD wrote:well, yes obviously the fins are not as big as the fin covers in that picture, but they are still getting rather large. It looks like they are probably half the chord and 2/3 the span of the covers -still pretty big!To a point they can very large if race courses are windward-leeward, because I think the vmg gain can outweigh loss of a knot or so reaching speed. This is not such a big deal when the riding is mostly straight up and down the wind, but it does make it harder on the legs, and less fun for freeride.For us freeridiing surfers, less extreme fins should be ok....I wonder if they will have some slalom figure-8 or zig-zag courses also, with smaller fins and skinnier boards....

There may be a similar system to the successful windsurf racing, where the current kite course racing is similar to Windsurf Formula Racing, and there may be a high speed kite slalom series, like this very popular Windsurf Slalom series (which can still be fast in light winds, although this shows strongish winds).

The fins in the first picture are probably Bruno Sroka's, and they are not the length of the fin covers. For light air racers are using fins almost 13 inches deep for the front and slighly shorter in the back.

When I say light air I am speaking of 4 to 20 knots. After 20 knots some riders might want to switch down to a slightly smaller set of fins. As far as a tri fin design; compared to a 4 fin set up, only a few riders have tested this option. Last year at the US Kite Course racing Nationals in Corpus Christi, Texas, Ken Winner and Sky Solback, both were riding tri fin set ups. Sky was pretty quick....i think he finished 3 rd or 4th if I recall....and I know Simon of Nomad boards of Tarifa, Spain has been testing tri's but the shape of the board must be close and then you have to work out where to locate the fins. So you need to do some serious testing.....

But to win a race now you have to be first to the top mark; so bigger fins and slightly bigger boards are working very well now.... (quads). And they are only about a half a knot slower downwind than a board with smaller fins....but you will never see the board with smaller fins anywhere near the front of the fleet at the windward mark.

Sean Farley came to FL for a little coaching and testing, and we tested the board he won the Worlds on last year against our latest shapes and it was completely wasted by the new boards performance..that's how fast the designs have changed.

But what was interesting for Farley and I is that his bigger board 21 Inches wide, was no faster even in light air that his slightly smaller board which is around 20 inches wide; and when we raced in Puerta Vallarta Sean was right on the pace in light air against the 23 inch wide Alex Aguera boards...but we are both light in weight...

So we learned that you have to have just the right amount of fin in the board, be a very efficient rider with good technique and the right size kite...then the size of the board does not have to be that big...but the bigger board is better when you mess up a tack for example.

The only kite companies testing kites for racing that I know of are Ozone- 2010 Edge, Cabrinha - the 2010 Crossbow, and North- Rebel (Last years Rebel which is marketed as a wave kite i think- won the Worlds in course racing) and RRD- of which kite is race oriented I am not sure.

Will post the video later, then you see the difference between him and others, already before the first upwind buoy...and then at the second start he is behind a lot...and again first on upwind buoy...but misses it by 1m or so, then gets the first on downwind track to next buoy.

stefaans wrote:the speed 3 huh. really? what race did it get a podium in in the last year?

Well considering that the Kite was not available till the end of last season its a bit unfair to judge.

But in PKRA Germany last year Eddy got 5th I think with a Twin Tip Raceboard and the Speed 3. He got 2 2nd Place finishes and a Third Place finish.

Also Armin became German Race Champion with the Speed 3.

Considering that Eddy did not train hard for that event and did not invest as much as some of the others, I think it shows that the Kite held its own against the others. It was one of the things that convinced me to try the Speed .